February 7, 2011

on socialization...again...

hello.we've had quite a busy start to our "semester" in the new year.we started extracurricular activities -jui jitsu and ballet and soccer.i promised myself that i would get them signed upafter we had successfully completed one "semester" of school.and since we survived, we thought it was time to start - to get them SOCIALIZED a bit more.and after the first dizzying weeks of sudden activity -do you know what i've learned?IT'S NOT MAKING A STINKIN' BIT OF DIFFERENCEsure, they sleep well those nights after practices,and sure, i get a bunch of great photo-ops,and we all get some fresh air...but they don't NEED it to make them better at socializing.the best social skills come whenthey learn how to be themselves.and it doesn't take a bunch of kids running after a ballto teach them that.it takes love, patience and understanding.it take's a deep sense of curiosity on our part -so that we can figure out what makes them tick.but mostly it takes time.

and of all the gifts that the homeschooling parent can impart on a child,this is the greatest -THAT WE TOOK THE TIME TO MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE IN THEIR OWN SKIN.and that's all that matters.the rest will take care of itself.

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Hello! I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of eight children (ages 13, 11, 10, 7, 5, 3, 1, and 8 months). In my previous existence I taught school--primarily history and English, but also ESL, and, during one bizarre year, math. I started teaching in a middle school where I discovered the hilarity of seventh graders and then later I moved to a high school and taught tenth and eleventh graders. I eventually switched again to the Education Department at Weber State University where I taught several ESL courses and a social studies methods course for elementary teachers. Writing curriculum is one of my passions. Sharing good books is another. Homeschooling--with all the frustration, fulfillment, frolic, and farce that it engenders--is another.